In our last class, we went over copyrighted material and intellectual property. During our discussuion, the web site Grooveshark was brought up. Right now Grooveshark is being sued by Universal music group. For those of you that don't know what Grooveshark is, it is a free online music site that allows users to post their own music and other users to listen to the posted music. Grooveshark also has an internet radio function similiar to Pandora.
Universal alleges that Grooveshark has some copyrighted music on its site, belonging to Universal. Here is a link that describes the details of the law suit...http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10432132-27.html. I find this interesting because Grooveshark seems to the line of how Napster got shut down, and how Pandora can contimue.
I just want to say that I love Grooveshark and I don't want it to get shut down. The purpose of this post was to bring awareness to those of you that don't know what it is. You can search for any song, put it on a playlist, and then log in from a mobile device or ipod and play your playlist. All of this can be done without illegally downloading a thing. Go check it out if you havn't.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Skype
For my next post, I want to talk about Skype. I have no idea how to use it, but I want to know how. When I move to Minneapolis to seclude myself for Bar preparations, I want to be able to see my friends and family. I do have a concern over skyping though. Are myself and the recipient the Skype messaging the only ones who actually see the transmission. Or, is there a 3rd party that has the ability to view what is being skyped?
It may be a silly thought, but it is one that concerns me. I often post about the intrusiveness of social media. While Skype may not fit exactly into that category, it is certainly a method of broadcasting information about myself over the internet.
Here is another thought. What if someone is murdered while they are skyping with a friend? The friend claims he saw the murderer on his computer. Can authorities retrieve sent transmissions if there is a compelling need? And if they can, should they be able too?
Sometimes I have no idea why i have these thoughts, but then I realize that its my nearly 3 years of law school training that makes me look at a technology that brings families in a negative light. Anyway, if anyone reads this and wants to poke fun at me either for worries or my inability to use Skype, feel free.
It may be a silly thought, but it is one that concerns me. I often post about the intrusiveness of social media. While Skype may not fit exactly into that category, it is certainly a method of broadcasting information about myself over the internet.
Here is another thought. What if someone is murdered while they are skyping with a friend? The friend claims he saw the murderer on his computer. Can authorities retrieve sent transmissions if there is a compelling need? And if they can, should they be able too?
Sometimes I have no idea why i have these thoughts, but then I realize that its my nearly 3 years of law school training that makes me look at a technology that brings families in a negative light. Anyway, if anyone reads this and wants to poke fun at me either for worries or my inability to use Skype, feel free.
Dot-XXX domain
My absence from Bob's Blog is largely due to my devoted research into the recently approved dot-xxx domain. The domain, as we have discussed in class, is an attempt to organize online adult content providers into one sectioned off area of the internet world. Its potential benefits are intriguing: easier filtering for the public, reduced spam, phishing, viruses, etc., and a new arena for content providers to compete with each other.
The downside to the approved domain is that it may not be as effective in addressing the above named benefits as many believe. There remains the possibility of dot-com websites to simply double their content and register in with a new dot-xxx domain while keeping their previous dot-com. Additionally, many religious groups contend that the new domain will increase the availability for minors to view the adult material.
Whether or not the domain successfully completes its objectives remains to be seen, but does anyone else out there see a chance for the government to get involved in this venture? I have mixed results when it comes to government involvement in the private realm of business, but this could be a win-win scenario for both sides. One this is for sure, if the government did get its hands dirty with this, it better watch out for violating free speech rights.
The downside to the approved domain is that it may not be as effective in addressing the above named benefits as many believe. There remains the possibility of dot-com websites to simply double their content and register in with a new dot-xxx domain while keeping their previous dot-com. Additionally, many religious groups contend that the new domain will increase the availability for minors to view the adult material.
Whether or not the domain successfully completes its objectives remains to be seen, but does anyone else out there see a chance for the government to get involved in this venture? I have mixed results when it comes to government involvement in the private realm of business, but this could be a win-win scenario for both sides. One this is for sure, if the government did get its hands dirty with this, it better watch out for violating free speech rights.
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